The Boy-Who-Lived-in-Zootopia
by Jakius Emrys
Summary: After his parents were killed by Voldemort, baby Harry was teleported to Zootopia, 16 years BEFORE the Nighthowler case. Follow him as he grows up in Zootopia, trying to live in a place where "anyone can be anything". REWRITE of In Need of Love
1. The Truth of Words

**Author Note: Sorry to all the followers of In Need of Love that I have disappointed, but I hope that you guys will enjoy this rewrite of the story. It does have a similar premise: Harry ends up in Zootopia... blah, blah, blah. But there are a few key differences, such as more development of characters, more thought put into the chapters, etc. You'll find out when you read it.**

 **Just so you know, the dates in the HP world are set twenty years after what they were in the books. For example, the day Harry's parents died in the books was October 31st, 1981. Here, it's October 31st, 2001.**

* * *

Chapter 1  
The Truth of Words

"To the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"Stay strong, because things will get better. It may be stormy now, but it can't rain forever."

These were the sayings that Albus Dumbledore had repeated to himself many times in the past, and they had quickly become his mantra, replacing the quote he had once looked so fondly upon: "For the greater good."

He first remembered uttering them at his sister's, Arianna's, funeral many decades ago. It was the only thing he could possibly think of that could lift his spirits, even just a little, as he could now believe that maybe there was something after death for his little sister. Perhaps she was frolicking in lush, green meadows or enjoying a life she had never had the chance to experience. Either way, it brought hope into Albus's heart, and that was enough.

As time went on, more and more people close to the wizened old man died. The lucky ones passed away peacefully in their sleep, but most didn't. Some went out in a blaze of glory, fighting to their last breath in a futile effort to protect their loved ones. And others... their deaths were brutal.

With each funeral he attended, Albus repeated his mantra and for the first few times, people believed. He could see it in the eyes of the mourning, as if a beacon of hope had turned in their direction, shining small rays of faith into their lives. Faith that their loved ones could have some semblance of amity, and faith in the belief that someday their lives would get better.

But when the number of funerals in a week began to outnumber the hours in a year, the mourners lost their confidence in Dumbledore's belief that things would get better. For how could it? What with the threat of You-Know-Who looming over everyone's shoulders at each passing second, and with the terror that the Death Eaters might target them next? The chances were next to none.

Despite this, Albus held onto his belief even as the number of wizards dwindled each day. He continued to recite his mantra, more for himself than for anyone else, for even he began to lose his grip on the views he had circulated throughout the populace.

But when the day of October 31st came, even he had to admit that he was surprised by the outcome. And though he was deeply saddened by the lives that had been extinguished on that date, he couldn't help but feel grateful that whatever they had done to the Dark Lord had destroyed him, for now at least.

History would remember the day that a family of three; Lily, James and little baby Harry; had died, but in doing so, had allowed the rest of the wizarding world to live in a world without Voldemort or fear of the Death Eaters. Two of the three family member's bodies had been recovered, but the little toddler's corpse had yet to be found.

The wizarding world rejoiced for their newfound freedom, but they mourned one last time for the family that had sacrificed their lives to make the world a better place. In almost perfect unison, the witches and wizards across the land raised their goblets to the star-studded sky in respect to the fallen Potters wishing the best for them with whatever lay ahead in Death's plan for them.

And as Albus drank to the Potters' memory, he could only think of one thing to say.

"Lily, James, and little Harry," he articulated through his depressed, raspy voice. "May you truly find the next great adventure in death."

* * *

 _9:30 PM_ , _October 31st, 2001  
Canyonlands Orphanage, Zootopia_

Ms Victoria Spencer ushered the children into their beds after a long night of trick-or-treating. She enjoyed it when a little child's face lit up in delight at the sight of so many sweets and chocolates. Although she knew she'd probably regret it tomorrow, when they were all hyped up on sugar, she couldn't help but feel content in the fact that today she had put a smile on every child's face. That was the real reason why she worked in the orphanage, to aid the poor souls without families and to hopefully bring a little joy into their lives. Thinking of this as she walked to her own room, a pleased smile of her own made its way onto her fur-covered face.

Lost in her thoughts, the old otter changed into her plaid pyjamas, went through her before-bed routine and was just about to hop into her slightly rigid bed when she heard a cry. A little annoyed, she seized her flashlight of the bedside table next to her and strolled out into the corridor. She may have had good low-light vision, but at this time of night she wasn't taking any chances.

At first, Ms Spencer thought that the crying was originating from one of the children in the building, possibly from eating too many sweets. But though she searched every dorm, she still could not find the source of the noise.

Until she passed the front doors on the ground floor, where the muffled cries were the shrillest.

She opened the entrance gingerly, the door creaking faintly as she did so. A mild gust of chilling wind blew through her fur when she stepped out onto the street, the breeze whistling in her ears. To the right, she heard the indistinct noises of Zootopian life, with the honking of trucks, the revving of cars and the chatter of mammals in the distance. But to her left, she caught the feeble sniffling of what sounded to be a baby.

Twisting her head sharply to the left, she found out, to her dismay, that she was right. A baby fox lay on the ground, clearly shivering beneath his black coat of fur and the blue shirt that encased him. Feeling a great pang of sadness, Ms Spencer looked up and down the street, searching for someone, anyone, who could possibly be this poor kit's parents. But the street was barren and empty, not a person in sight.

Knowing that the fox kit would freeze to death otherwise, she lifted the black bundle of fur off the cold, hard tarmac and brought him inside to the warmth and safety of the orphanage. The sniffling stopped the instant she crossed over the threshold of the door, being replaced with a soft cooing as the young fox snuggled up against the otter's chest. A tender, affectionate smile played across Ms Spencer's lips, as she couldn't even deny the overload of cuteness that the kit exuded.

A sharp blast of wind thrust the doors closed, making an awful racket as they did. Ms Spencer jumped in fright and the young kit began to cry once again. A rhythmic _clip-clop_ of hooves resonated down the halls, which was soon revealed to be the footsteps of a bleary-eyed ewe in a white linen robe turning the corner.

"What's going on?" she groaned, futilely attempting to stifle the yawn that threatened to escape her mouth.

"Sorry, Dee." Ms Spencer apologised quietly. "Why don't you go back to bed? We've got a long day tomorrow, especially after tonight and the kits eating their candy."

The ewe rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, blinking twice afterwards to focus more. She squinted, before pulling out a pair of red-rimmed glasses out of the pocket of her robe and placing them squarely on her nose, peering at the fox Ms Spencer held in her arms.

"Vicky, is that a fox?" she sneered.

"Yes, _he_ is." Ms Spencer replied, looking somewhat affronted at the ewe's reaction.

"Well then, get him out!" said Dee, shooing her away. "We can't have preds in here. This is a prey-only orphanage!"

"Dee!" Ms Spencer responded, appalled at her friend's prejudice. "He'll die out there on his own!"

The ewe narrowed her eyes at the fox, before turning back to Ms Spencer. "I don't care, predators shouldn't be mixed up with prey in any home. They're not trustworthy."

Ms Spencer stiffened in anger, before retorting "I'll have you know, Dee, that _I_ am technically classed as a predator. And yet nothing has happened to anyone in all the time I've worked here." she paused to catch her breath. "But you would still call me untrustworthy."

Dee did not back down at this accusation, in fact it seemed to make her stand firmer by her point, however biased it may be. Disgusted, Ms Spencer trudged past her, the fox kit in her arms, to her room. She stopped at the door and turned back to her "friend".

"You know what, Dee?" she called out. "Times will change, and if you continue to be so prejudiced towards predators, you're gonna end up alone with no one around to offer you help when you need it."

And with that, she entered her room with not another word said to the ewe, the door closing silently to not wake the rest of the building. The second the otter was safe in the seclusion of her room, she sighed deeply. The little fox she held yawned feebly, before falling asleep in her arms, inadvertently drawing Ms Spencer's attention.

"So, what's your name, little kit?" she whispered to no one in particular.

As the kit tossed and turned in his sleep, she glimpsed that a word had been embroidered onto the kit's shirt. A word that she had not noticed before. The shirt simply read: _Harry_.

"Well, don't worry, Harry." she said comfortingly, aware that the kit could not heard nor comprehend her. "I'll take care of you for now."

* * *

 _August 4th, 2008  
7 and 1/2 Years Later_

The all-too-familiar taste of mud filled Harry's mouth and the scent of freshly cut grass overloaded his nostrils as he lay on the ground, small drops of red blood silently dripping on to the hard-packed dirt below. Small beads that were tears of pain ran slowly down his face, yet more and more blows connected with his body. He was used to this by now, but that didn't stop the pain. In fact, it only made the beatings feel even worse.

"Go back to your own kind, fox!" a spiteful voice shouted. "You don't belong here with us prey."

And with that, the gang of playground bullies left, hi-fiving each other as they left Harry's broken form behind, snivelling in the field. Gingerly, Harry pushed himself off the ground, a sharp sting of pain shooting through his wrist as he did. Inwardly, he cursed, knowing that this was going to hurt like hell when it healed. Cuts and bruises were fine, but dislocated bones were a nightmare of agony.

He could already feel the cuts healing as he stood up, knitting themselves back together as if being stitched by an invisible needle. With an almighty _POP_ , his wrist set itself back into place, eliciting a small groan of anguish from Harry. Ignoring the pins and needles that were beginning to spread across his hand, he continued his trek back to the orphanage, hoping that he could wipe the blood from his fur before Ms Spencer saw. He honestly liked the otter, she was one of the few from the orphanage who looked out for him, but she could be so overbearing at times. He was grateful for the support though, God knew he could use it at times.

For despite Ms Spencer's best efforts, Harry wasn't really accepted by many in the orphanage. The clear majority of them looked down upon him and excluded him, simply because he was the only predator in an orphanage full of prey with the bonus of having a weird fur colour for his species. Only a select few were kind enough to not ignore, or worse belittle, him when he was around, but those mammals mainly consisted of a few older orphans who had taken a liking to him when he was a small pup.

As he arrived at the property, Harry noticed that a strange black car had parked outside the building. Somewhat curious, Harry sneaked in through the front doors of the orphanage to see what was going on.

At first glance, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He could see, through the open doors, that some of the orphans had already gotten back from school and were lounging around on their beds, waiting for dinner. The ewe who had replaced Dee a couple months ago was trotting all over the place, checking in to make sure no fights were breaking out (as if she ever reported it when they did happen). But for some reason, Ms Spencer was nowhere to be seen, which was rather unusual as normally she would've been waiting near the door with a smile as the children arrived after school.

"What are you doing just standing around?" the old ewe said, noticing Harry for the first time. "Go to your dorm."

"Yes, miss." Harry replied quickly, complying to her orders.

He entered the dorm to find it in quite a lot of chaos, as per usual. The older, more mature, ones sat on their beds with books clutched in their paws, either a textbook or a novel, whilst the more energetic youngsters ran around like crazy, throwing small Hacky Sacks to and fro, barely missing other mammals' heads. Harry trudged through, ducking and weaving through the crowd, his focus on the small, rickety bed in the corner that was his. It was the only one that had been unoccupied when Harry had moved in and, frankly, no one else had wanted to sleep there (for good reasons too).

Harry ducked under the unoccupied top bunk and sat down, the mattress sinking slightly and the frame creaking slightly as he did. The noise gained the attention of the adolescent squirrel who lay in the bed next to him, taking the teen's focus away from the large (for the squirrel) textbook he held in his small paws.

"Hey, Harry." the squirrel said, offering a small smile.

"Hey, Nico." Harry replied, returning the favour. "Whatcha reading?"

"Ah, SAT prep for mechanical engineering." Nico replied, showing the cover to the much larger fox. "I have to know all of this by December."

"December?" Harry clarified. "But that's ages away, you don't have to study now."

"I do if I want to get into M.I.T." Nico sighed, before determination set into his blue eyes. "Enough about me, how was your day?"

"Fine." Harry lied hastily, looking down at the floor.

Nico looked at him suspiciously, disbelieving. "Oh no, what happened this time?"

"Nothing!" Harry insisted. "Nothing happened!"

Nico tested the air, sniffing it with his black muzzle. His eyes widened as his brain comprehended what he smelt.

"Is that blood I smell?" he asked, leaning forward to peer at Harry's face, where he could see the faint streaks of red glinting against the fox's black fur. "Dammit, Harry. You can't just let them walk over you. Stand up for yourself!"

"I can't." Harry responded, his voice cracking slightly. "It would only end worse for me."

Nico's expression softened a bit, understanding, to some extent, what Harry had to go through every day as a fox.

"Listen, Harry, I know it's hard for you." he said sincerely. "I really do. I was bullied too. Maybe not as bad as you, but it was damn close."

"I may not have stood up for myself physically," he continued. "But I didn't let them walk over me either. It doesn't matter how you stand up for yourself, but only that you do."

"Sure." said Harry sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Harry." Nico stated, looking at the now dry blood on Harry's fur. "Now, go clean yourself up before Ms Spencer finds out. I can cover you this time, but only if you promise to listen to what I said. Okay?"

"Okay, I promise." Harry conceded, towering above the squirrel as he got off his bed.

"Good." Nico nodded. "Now go wash up, okay?"

"Yes, mum." Harry snarked, leaving the dorm in a similar fashion to how he got in: ducking and weaving through the sea of kits.

He turned left, heading towards the bathroom that was next to Ms Spencer's office. He entered, and twisted the tap above the sink, letting the cold water pour out into his paws, which he soon rubbed in his fur, attempting to get the dried blood off before it stained. When he was done, he twisted the tap shut and glanced at himself in the mirror, contemplating what the squirrel had said.

Yes, tomorrow he wouldn't let himself get attacked and beaten. Tomorrow he _would_ stand up for himself, he decided as he dried his face with a towel.

He left the bathroom and headed back to the dorm, passing Ms Spencer's office as he did so, when he heard the muffled sounds of two adults talking behind the thick, cedar door. Curious, he sneaked back and listened at the keyhole, trying to discern what they were saying.

"...he's quite a troublemaker." a deep voice said. "This will be his third home in a year and I believed that you might be able to handle him better than the rest of the caretakers I've left him with."

"Mr Savage," said the voice of Ms Spencer. "What makes you believe I'd be able to handle someone with his... abilities better than the rest?"

There was a pause, and Harry pressed his ear closer to the keyhole to hear.

"Because you're handling one already." the voice of Mr Savage whispered. "That young black-furred fox you found seven or eight years ago. He's one of us, though he doesn't know it."

Behind the door, Harry's eyes widened, and he had to stuff his fist in his mouth to prevent himself from gasping.

"Harry?" Ms Spencer questioned. "What do you mean "he's one of you"?"

"He's hidden it well," Mr Savage explained gruffly. "But you'll see some day."

"Now about Jake..." Savage continued, spitting out the name as if were toxic.

"Yes, fine." Ms Spencer agreed. "I suppose I can take him in. I think we still have an empty bed left somewhere."

"Excellent! I'll leave him with you then."

The door opened suddenly, and Harry froze like a deer caught in headlights. In front of him stood an adult hare wearing a suit and tie, holding the door open as he looked up and down at Harry. And then the hare smiled, chuckling to himself, before he walked off outside.

"Harry." said Ms Spencer, looking at him sternly. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

Harry looked around dramatically, pretending to be lost. "This isn't the bathroom." he declared loudly, turning around and attempting to walk away.

"Get in here." she said, stifling a snicker at his antics.

"Yes, miss." he complied, entering the room to see a young red fox about his age standing in the corner, a solemn look printed on his face.

The door closed behind Harry, shaking in its frame as if it could feel the tension that was beginning to build up in the room. Ms Spencer sighed, putting a paw on her head as if to hinder the imminent headache that was approaching.

"As you probably would've gathered from your _spying_ ," she began, putting emphasis on the last word. "Jake here is going to be joining us at the orphanage from now on."

 _KSSSSSH!_

The two turned their heads to Jake, who stood unmoving with an inhaler in his hand, looking somewhat sheepish. Quick as a flash, he pulled the inhaler out of his mouth and put his hands behind his back, quietly whistling as if nothing had happened.

" _Anyway_ ," said Ms Spencer, trudging on from the interruption. "It would be great if someone of his own species showed him the ropes around here." Harry opened his mouth as if to correct her. "Yes, you _are_ the exact same species, Harry. Black fur is just a rare occurrence." Harry closed his mouth in response, nodding.

"So, could you make sure he doesn't get into trouble?" she finished, looking at him pleadingly.

Harry looked at the fox, weighing up the pros and cons. On one hand, Jake was the same species as him (which was good, considering there were no other foxes in the orphanage). But on the other, there was the fact that Harry didn't yet know what that rabbit had been talking about when he had listened in on their conversation (and from the sounds of it, it might be bad if he found out).

And in that split-second, Harry said a word that would change his life forever.

"Sure."

* * *

 _* Tell me what you think of this rewrite. Is it better than the original? Is there any way I can improve it? Tell me in the comments below. By the way, of the four "OCs" that were named, three of them are going to be involved with the Nighthowler case. Can you guess who they are?_

 **Author Note: Thanks for reading this chapter, and I'm sorry to those who are still disappointed about my running into a wall with In Need of Love. I hope I can make it up to you by giving you a brilliant story with The Boy-Who-Lived-in-Zootopia.**

 **Please review, and as always, tune in next time.**


	2. The Ties that Bind

**Author Note: Thanks to all of you who reviewed the first chapter. Already it's looking to be a much better received story than the original, just based on the number of reviews, favourites and follows the story's received in such a short span of time.**

 **I hope that I can continue to write good quality chapters that can keep you all happy in return for the support you have given me. I hope you enjoy and I hope that you'll review at the end.**

* * *

 _"Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together."  
-_William J. Clinton

* * *

Chapter 2  
The Ties that Bind

A knock echoed through the door, becoming more rapid with each passing second. The recurring _tap-tapping_ on the wood was becoming increasingly annoying for the teenaged rabbit who lay opposite the entrance. Try as she might, she could not ignore it. And before long, the incessant knocking made her snap.

"What?!" she yelled, throwing her pencil down in frustration.

The door creaked open ever-so-slightly, revealing the doe's eight, nearly nine, year old sister standing timidly in the doorway. Judy's eyes softened at the sight of her favourite sister, of who she saw much of herself in, and sighed heavily.

"Yes?" Judy said, looking back down at her homework. "What is it, Herms?"

"Don't call me that." a tiny voice replied.

"Don't call you what?" Judy asked, her lips curving upwards mischievously. "Herms?"

"Yeeeessss!" the younger doe whined. "You know I don't like it."

"Ah, you know you love me." countered Judy, grinning from ear to ear.

"Do I know that?" she responded, a smile of her own forming. "Yes, yes I do."

The two laughed heartily at their little in-joke, Judy nonchalantly motioning for her sister to come in. She obliged, hopping onto Judy's bed beside her, inadvertently crumpling the homework the teenager had been working on as she did, the paper rustling audibly at her touch.

"Careful!" Judy warned, chuckling faintly at her sister's clumsiness. "Wouldn't want some _precious_ homework to get crinkled, would we, Hermione?"

Hermione glanced down at where she had sat, and her eyes widened rapidly.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Judy!" she apologised profusely.

"It doesn't matter." Judy replied, waving it off. "So, what's up? How was school?"

"Good, good..." Hermione responded, focusing on her feet as if she had suddenly found them interesting.

Judy noticed her sister's abrupt change in attitude and looked at her dubiously, eyes full of concern. She noted that Hermione was chewing on her claws nervously, a habit she had recently acquired whenever she was hiding something.

"Hermione..." she said, looking at her pointedly. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Nooooo." Hermione tensely replied, dragging her words out. "Why do you think there is?"

"You're chewing on your claws," Judy deadpanned, eliciting a "Damn." from Hermione. "So, talk."

Hermione groaned, before being silenced by a look from her sister. She knew there was no point in denying anything now, so she decided to get the confession over and done with, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to tell her _everything_.

"It's nothing... just a little teasing, that's all." she admitted.

"Teasing?" Judy clarified anxiously. "What kind of teasing?"

Hermione sighed, small tear droplets forming at the corners of her eyes at the memories of the harsh words she'd been subject to. "Just things about me being... bookish and a teacher's pet. And how I'm good for nothing except doing other's homework."

It wasn't the whole truth. There were... other things they had taunted her about, but she didn't wish to tell Judy, her favourite sister, about it, for fear of rejection.

A consoling arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her closer to the warm of her sister, who hugged her in reassurance.

"Hey..." Judy consoled soothingly. "Don't listen to them. There's nothing wrong with being bookish. Or a teacher's pet."

Hermione sniffed. "R-really?"

"Of course, there isn't." she comforted. "If that's a part of who you are, then embrace it. Don't let what people say get in the way of you being yourself."

"It's easy for you to say." Hermione retorted with a snivel. "Other mammals don't criticise you about anything."

Judy scoffed softly. "I'll have you know, Ms _Herms_..." she said in a posh accent, prompting a small giggle from Hermione. "...that I too have braved the cruel criticisms that this world has offered. And I assure you, I am still the same bunny I was when I was born."

As she said this, she pointed at three fading scars on her cheek which looked suspiciously like claw marks. Hermione had always wondered why Judy had a slightly lighter fur colour there, and it looked like she was about to find out.

"I got these..." Judy continued. "...from a fox called Gideon Grey. He was trying to 'teach me a lesson', so to say, that a bunny could never become a cop." she paused for a moment, before turning to back to Hermione with determination burning in her eyes. "But that isn't stopping me from being who I am, from trying to make the world a better place, and neither should anyone's words stop you."

Admiration shone through Hermione's eyes, all of it directed at her sister. Oh, how she wished that she could be more like Judy, to have so much confidence and hope for her future. But what Hermione truly prized about her sister was how she wasn't afraid to try and do something that many thought to be impossible.

 _If I could be enough half like Judy_ , thought Hermione, _I could help her make the world better for everyone._

She mumbled something that was imperceptible to Judy, even with her bunny hearing.

"What was that?" asked Judy gently. "I didn't hear you."

"I said," Hermione voiced. "That maybe I could, you know, try to be a cop. Just like how you're trying."

Judy's heart near leaped out of her chest at her sister's words, she was so happy. Happy that before even _becoming_ a cop, she was already making a difference, by being a role model of sorts to Hermione. It didn't matter that her parents were... _less than_ thrilled about her choice in dream career, so long as at least one of her family members supported her fully.

On the outside though, Judy's smile broadened, and she hugged her sister tighter, who reciprocated the action wholeheartedly.

Now all Judy had to do was live up to her dream and provide hope for Hermione that it could be done.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Harry looked across the yard at the young red fox who sat by himself, as still and as silent as a statue, only moving once every few minutes to draw in a puff from his inhaler. The fox, Jake if he remembered correctly, made no effort to mingle with the vast array of children who ran around, burning off the unspent energy from class. Harry knew that even if he did, it wouldn't make a difference, as most of the school were prey and tended to avoid preds in favour of their own species. Even other predators usually shunned foxes because of their "untrustworthy" nature, which meant that they were the discriminated minority in the politics of primary school.

From Harry's position on the swing, this Jake fellow appeared to be staring into nothingness, unseeing of the world around him. The thousand-yard stare, some of the older ones called it. A blank, expressionless face found on those who had suffered terrible things, they said, and had become quite detached from life. Harry had only heard rumours about it, but he could deduce from Jake's face that this was what they had been talking about.

A shiver ran down Harry's spine, as if some unseen force was warning him of something that was about to happen. He turned his focus away from the lone cub and toward the striped hare who was advancing in Jake's direction, with a clear purpose in mind. Curious, Harry removed himself from the entangled swing and trod carefully towards the upcoming encounter, quickly coming within earshot of their conversation.

"So, Emrys," said the hare antagonistically. "It appears your _dear_ family has departed from this world, and if my father is to be believed, you had something to do with it."

"I had nothing to do with that, Jack." Jake replied through what sounded like gritted teeth. "And you know it."

"Do I?" the hare called Jack replied, pretending to act incredulous. "I mean, the fire had your signature on it, so I'd assume you lost control of your power. Or maybe you thought you would be so kind as to wipe the stain that was your family off this world..."

"Shut up." Jake warned, his body shaking with barely contained rage.

"Oh, get over it." Jack taunted. "You wouldn't even exist if your ancestor had returned to his world when he should've. The House of Emrys was a blight on our society, and I'm glad you could possibly be the last."

Harry walked forward, planning to intervene and stand up for the fox when a multitude of things happened in the span of a few seconds. Jake began breathing heavily and raised his inhaler to his lips, only for it to fly out of his paw and into Jack's waiting palm. Harry's eyes widened at the small display, as he came to realise that this Jack fellow was like him, albeit with his abilities not his personality.

The hare glanced at what he held and laughed.

"So, it seems the fire did cripple the lone survivor." he noted, staring straight at Jake. "As if anyone should expect any less from a weakling like you."

Behind the smirking hare, the windows that lined the building walls of the school shattered in unison. And as one, the shards of glass rose into the air before shooting towards the hare that stood in front of them, travelling almost as fast as bullets.

The hare turned around quickly, panic etched clearly into his face. He braced himself for the shards' impact, only to disappear out of the path of the glass and reappear a few metres away. The glass fell to the ground, shattering into even smaller pieces, in the place where Jack had just been. A multitude of heads twisted at the sound of the breaking glass, accompanied by hushed whispers and pointing at the scene.

"What happened?" a bunny's voice asked quietly, peering out from behind a giraffe.

"Did someone smash a window?" said another.

Across the courtyard, an old pig teacher raced out of the main building and screamed at the top of his lungs: "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!"

The sound echoed around the yard, with every student now taking notice of the three who stood nearest the glass: Harry, Jake and Jack. The teacher saw this, and marched over to them, nostrils flaring and a fury in his beady eyes.

"WELL?!" the pig demanded, glaring at the three.

"It was Jake." Jack blamed, pointing a trembling finger at the fox.

The pig turned to the shaking Jake, giving him the evil eye as he looked him up and down.

"I should've known." the pig said simply. "They told me you were a troublemaker, and I should expect nothing less from a fox." He finished, gesturing towards the broken glass that surrounded Jack.

Remembering his promise to Ms Spencer (and feeling guilty for not stepping in when he could've), Harry stepped in front of Jake, blocking him from the pig's line of sight.

"I did it." he said, looking straight into the pig's beady eyes. "It was me. I did this."

The pig raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Oh, really?" he asked sarcastically. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind spending after school in detention, would you?"

Harry's eyes widened slightly, and he gulped. But then he thought of his vow and of how cruelly Jake had been treated by that nasty hare Jake, and his nerves steeled.

"No, I wouldn't mind." he replied with conviction.

"Fine then." the pig countered, scribbling on a pink slip before handing it to Harry. "See Mr Saddler after school."

Behind them, Jack tossed the inhaler to the ground and left, furious that he hadn't got Jake in trouble. Jake walked over to it, picked it up and walked away, but not before giving Harry a look of gratitude for what he'd done for him.

* * *

 _4 Hours Later_

A loud, droning snore emitted from the drooling mouth of Mr Saddler. It seemed that the old horse had fallen asleep once again, probably from eating too much at lunch, Harry assumed. The windows were shaking from the vibrations of his snoring, the racket ringing in Harry's ears. It was rather unfortunate that the windows in the detention room had been spared from Jake's onslaught, otherwise Harry would've just dived out of the classroom ages ago. As it was, the only way out of the room (to Harry's knowledge) was through the locked door in the corner, which could only be unlocked by the key. The key which Mr Saddler was now sitting on, to prevent anyone from leaving whilst he took his afternoon nap.

Harry sighed deeply, drumming his fingers against the fox-sized desk he sat at, bored out of his mind. To be honest, he was somewhat regretting helping Jake back there. Sure, it felt good to help him originally, yet that was before he was subject to the mind-numbing boredom that now plagued his thoughts with each second. To make it worse, he didn't even get a "Thank you." from the kit.

He lay his head on the desk, feeling defeated as he kept an eye on the clock attached to the wall, waiting for it to slowly tick towards the time when he'd be free to go. He was busy contemplating the excuse he'd have for Ms Spencer when he heard a noise, that sounded a lot like the popping and banging of the vents that went around the school. Harry ignored it, believing it to be just the wind, until he heard a loud, familiar spluttering and coughing emitting from the vent above him.

"No way." Harry said to himself in disbelief, glancing upwards.

Sure enough, the red-furred face of the fox for whom he was in here for was peering down at him through a small grate. The fox pushed against the grate to no avail, not noticing the screws that held it in place.

"A little help here." he whispered, coughing a little.

Harry subconsciously waved his hand and the screws fell out simultaneously. With a small push from Jake, the grate fell out of its place and hit the floor with a _CLANG_. Both winced, with Harry looking over at Mr Saddler to see if the noise had woken him up. Thankfully, the horse didn't so much as move a muscle, and Harry let loose a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Wanna get out of here?" Jake asked, tossing a rope down to Harry, extending it as far as it could go. Without hesitation, Harry nodded, climbing onto an elephant-sized desk and grabbed hold of the rope, pulling himself up to the hole in the ceiling.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Jake wheezed, taking a puff from his inhaler. "Just consider us even."

Harry looked past the gasping fox to the maze of vents that lay before them, wondering how they were going to get out. He couldn't make heads nor tails of where the vents led, even though he knew the layout of the school. The vents didn't appear to follow any path that he knew down on the ground, leaving the fox confounded as to how Jake had found him.

"How...?" he began, before being interrupted.

"Lots and lots of searching, that's how." Jake said, answering the unsaid question. "And let me tell you, it's not what it's like in the movies."

Harry snorted at this. "Which way?" he asked simply.

"Just follow me." Jake responded as he crawled past Harry, the ducts creaking under their combined weight.

"You sure it can hold us?" Harry asked nervously.

"I saw a full-grown wolf crawl through here with no problem." came Jake's muffled reply. "I think we're safe."

Jake continued to crawl through the vents, with Harry not far behind. They kept as silent as they could, even though Harry's mind was screaming for the freedom that was only a short distance away. And when the angelic rays of sunlight peeked through a grate that led outside, Harry could not have felt more relieved at the chance to get out of the cramped and dusty vents.

Upon landing haphazardly on the tarmac, the two foxes ran as if their lives depended on it, putting as much distance between the school and them as they possibly could. Soon they were well out of sight of the school and they paused to catch their breath, with Jake almost coughing his lungs out from the strain the running had caused him.

"I... I think we're all right now." Harry wheezed.

"Yeah..." gasped Jake.

They rested for a few minutes before getting off the ground and walking, leisurely, in the direction of the orphanage. A question burned in Harry's mind as they walked, and now that Jake was here, he could ask him.

"Who was that hare you were talking to?" he asked. "You know, before the whole... _incident_."

Jake's face darkened at the mention of the hare. He sighed but felt that he did owe the fox an explanation, especially after Harry had thrown himself under the bus for him.

"His name's Jack Savage." he revealed. "He's about... eleven, I'd say. He's quite a jerk, but his dad's some big shot in the government, so he mostly gets away with it."

Savage. The name rang a bell with Harry, and he knew why. He'd heard it just yesterday, when he was "eavesdropping" on Ms Spencer and that hare, just before he first met Jake.

"Wait, is his dad...?"

"The hare who brought me in yesterday?" Jake finished. "Yes, he was."

"Huh. I didn't realise the government took such an interest in orphans." said Harry incredulously.

"They don't." Jake stated sadly. "Only the part where Jack's dad works. Even then, only about mammals like us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean those who are _more_ than the average mammal." Jake said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Who can use... magic."

Harry stopped in his tracks. "Magic? Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat magic?"

Jake eyebrows furrowed, and his lips curled into a scowl. "That 'street magic' gives us all a bad name." he grumbled. "No, I'm talking about moving things with your mind, healing injuries almost instantly or teleporting. That sort of magic."

"Oh."

They turned the corner where the orphanage was and walked up the stairs to the entrance, carefully opening the door to make as little noise as possible. They attempted to tiptoe to their dorm but to their dismay, they were not so lucky as to escape notice.

"Why are you so late getting back?" the voice of Ms Irving asked. "The others got back almost an hour ago."

The two turned to face the old ewe and an unfamiliar doe that stood at the end of the corridor, tapping their hooves in irritation.

"Sorry, Ms Irving." Harry apologised. "It won't happen again."

"I should hope not." the ewe said with a stern eye fixed on the two. "We wouldn't want our new replacement to think that this happens regularly, would we?"

"No, Ms Irving." they replied, wondering what she meant by 'replacement'.

"Good." she said. "Now get ready for dinner, and brush all that dust off you. You two are filthy! You better be quick, so you don't miss the announcement."

"What announcement?" Harry probed cautiously, knowing that announcements were very rarely good.

"You'll find out soon." Ms Irving replied, beginning to lose her patience. "Get moving."

The two foxes complied, scrambling into the dorm and shaking the dust off them as quickly as they could. They threw whatever clean clothes they had onto themselves and raced to the mess hall, ducking in just as the bell rang for everyone's attention. The room, which had once been full of chatter, quietened down and turned to face the front where Ms Spencer stood with the doe the two had seen earlier.

"Good evening, children." Ms Spencer said kindly. "I suppose you are all wondering who this lovely doe is beside me."

There were a few murmurs of agreement with Ms Spencer's statement, and a few of the shorter children stood on their seats to get a look at the doe. After they settled down, Ms Spencer continued.

"She is going to be my replacement," she revealed, raising her voice to be heard over the kerfuffle that followed. "Because in a few weeks, I am leaving to get married."

At this, many of the girls in the area squealed, a few of the boys groaned and Harry, well he was shocked at the news. Ms Spencer was getting replaced? She was one of the few mammals who stood by him, and yet she was leaving now? Harry's heart sunk, realising that his life was going to get a lot harder from here on out.

"In my time here, I've had the great pleasure of getting to know quite a few of you very well." she continued. "And to those who I haven't, I wish I could've got to know you more. I wish you all the best in the future and I hope that you can take as much from me as I have from you in the time we've spent together. Thank you."

There a small smattering of applause, but Harry couldn't bear to listen. He sat opposite Jake in shock, wishing that it weren't true, but knowing deep down that it was. Ms Spencer, the one who was the reason for him having a place to live, was not going to be around anymore. All he could do now was hope for the best in moving forward.

Jake noticed his vacant expression and waved a paw in front of his face.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah..." Harry lied. "I just have a feeling that things are gonna get more difficult from now on."

And unfortunately for Harry, his feeling was right.

* * *

 _* SUGGESTIONS: If you have any suggestions on the pairing for Harry, put it down in the reviews section. If it's an already existing character, just put their name down. If your suggestion is an OC of your own, write down their name, species and some stuff about them. Thanks, and I hope to see some suggestions_

 _** Just in case you're wondering: In this version of history, Hermione's parents were one of the victims of Voldemort's reign and were killed before Hermione was born. In a similar way as to how others have "crossed over", she ended in Zootopia and was born to Stu and Bonnie, about five or six years after Judy was born. The rest is history._

 **Author Note: Sorry that this chapter took so long, I've just been very busy and I wanted to make this chapter be the best it could be (at least with my amateur writing). Apologies for the exposition near the end, but I had to put a little bit of this into context for Harry, who wasn't aware of things like that yet. By the way, I'll tell you how you can tell if a character will be important or not: If he/she is important, they will be given a first AND a last name. If not, well you can guess the rest.**

 **Anyways, please review and I will get to work on chapter 3. Stay tuned.**


	3. Partners in Crime

**Author Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, I really appreciate it and I hope I can continue to post interesting/good chapters so that you guys don't lose faith in me.**

 **From the pairing suggestions I have received (at the time of writing this chapter), it appears that a large majority of you voted for the same thing: A Harmony ship. The people have spoken and as your humble scribe, I shall happily oblige :)**

 **On to the chapter!**

* * *

 _"The head never rules the heart, but just becomes its' partner in crime."  
_ -Mignon McLaughlin

* * *

Chapter 3  
Partners in Crime

A few weeks passed after the fateful announcement, until finally the day Harry had been dreading arrived. It happened so suddenly, one day Ms Spencer was there at the door, greeting the orphans as they returned from school, and then the next, she wasn't. This time, the doe replacement waited before the entrance, smiling at almost everyone who entered. Everyone except Harry and Jake, who she grimaced at when they arrived. Clearly the doe's acceptance of the foxes would only stretch so far; she was willing to tolerate them staying in the orphanage, but other than a stern "Hello." at their arrival she would not even interact with them, preferring to stay as far away from them as she could.

"She's a right bigot, that one." Jake said to Harry one morning, after a scathing look from the deer flashed their way.

"Got that right." Harry grumbled, checking the time on his watch as they trudged to school.

"I don't know if it's because we're preds," Jake stated. "Or if it's because we're foxes. Either way..." he trailed off before stopping in his tracks, his eyes fixed on something across the street.

"What?" asked Harry, coming to a halt in front of Jake. "What is it?"

Jake did not say a word, instead choosing to point at what he saw. Harry twisted his head, following where Jake was pointing... and then he saw him. The young striped hare from school, Jack Savage, was sitting down at a bus stop, reading from a large book that lay perched on his lap, but it was too big to have been made for the hare. From where Harry stood, the book appeared to be bound in a brown scaly skin, the like of which Harry had never seen before. But what caught Harry's eye was the purple insignia that emblazoned the centre of the tome, a symbol made from three conjoined spirals, that seemed to glow slightly.

"That... that bastard." Jake uttered, breathing heavily in barely contained rage. His paws curled into fists as he glared daggers at the hare who sat oblivious to the furious fox mere metres away. He began to march in Jack's direction, only to be stopped by a frantic Harry.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Harry rapidly, trying to placate his friend. "Jake, just take a deep breath and calm down…"

"Calm down?!" Jake exclaimed. "How can I be calm when that cottontail jerk has that book?!"

"What's so special about _that_ book?" Harry asked. In the silence that followed, Harry knew he had said something wrong. Jake's astounded look only proved him right.

Jake took a deep breath, the air hissing as he inhaled, and sighed loudly, his fists unclenching as he did so.

"Harry," Jake said calmly. "That book that Jack's holding… it's not just any ordinary book. It's my family's grimoire."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not understanding what the fox meant. Seeing his puzzled look, Jake continued.

"A grimoire is a collection of a family's history, their research, their darkest secrets..." he explained. "It's priceless to the family it belongs to, and…" he choked up at this point. "…it's the last thing I have of my family, it's the only thing that survived the fire that killed them."

"Oh." said Harry dejectedly. He gave a consoling pat on the back to Jake, as he tried to think of a way to get the book back to its rightful owner. "We'll get it back. I promise." he reassured.

Jake looked to his black-furred friend, eyes full of appreciation. "Thanks, Harry."

"No problem." Harry replied, flashing a small, sad smile at Jake.

A loud _KSSSSSH_ interrupted their conversation, and they turned their heads to see Jack placing the grimoire in his bag as a bus came to halt in front of him. He disappeared from their sight as he got onto the yellow vehicle, the bus driving away seconds later. Their eyes followed the transport as it rolled down the street and turned the corner, becoming hidden from their prying eyes.

"We could get it at school." Harry suggested weakly, eliciting a small nod from Jake.

* * *

In all honesty, they couldn't believe how hard it was to recover a book. They had followed Jack as best as they could for the better part of the day, and still nothing. The hare never left his bag unattended during recess, and it was too challenging to try and nick his bag whilst he was in class (they'd be spotted easily). All in all, this was quickly becoming the hardest thing both foxes had ever done.

"Got any ideas?" Jake asked wearily, breathing in a puff from his inhaler.

"Two, but they're not any good." Harry replied.

Jake sighed mournfully, and then shrugged. "Why not? Let's hear them."

"My first idea was that we could knock him out." Harry suggested. "I saw that in a movie once."

Jake looked at Harry dubiously. "Definitely not!" he declared, receiving an astounded look from Harry.

"Sure, he may deserve it," Jake admitted. "But he'll know that _something_ happened when he wakes up, and then we're caught. Next."

"Well, I'm not sure if it's better," said Harry doubtfully. "But maybe we could, I don't know, take the book from his bag."

Jake looked at Harry quizzically. "What do you mean? We've been trying that all day."

"I don't mean stealing the book when he takes his bag off." Harry answered. "I meant doing it whilst he still has his bag on."

"And how exactly would we do that without him noticing?" inquired Jake, curious as to what Harry's so-called plan entailed.

"Here's what I was thinking," said Harry, leaning on a wall behind him. "One of us distracts Jack, and at the same time, the other nicks the book from the bag."

A moment of silence passed between the two, with Jake sending Harry pointed looks, as if he expected more to be said.

"Wait, that's your plan?" he asked skeptically. At Harry's nod, he scoffed in disbelief and threw his arms into the air. "You gotta be kidding me. There has to be at least a hundred plans better than that."

"Do you have a better plan?" Harry asked calmly.

"I..." Jake stuttered, appearing to be at war with himself. His brows furrowed as he became deep in thought, and his paw moved from left to right in a futile attempt to make a plan. "No." he conceded, sounding thoroughly disappointed in himself.

Harry smirked, looking somewhat pleased with himself.

"Fine!" yelled Jake. "Who's gonna be the one to steal the book?"

"I don't know yet." Harry confessed. "But-"

"I'm losing faith in this plan with each second." Jake stated in a deadpan manner. Harry glared at Jake, before continuing.

" _But_ maybe we can see who can take something without being noticed." he suggested.

"Like, I take something from you, you take something from me?" Jake clarified. "And whoever doesn't notice it will be the one to distract Jack?"

Harry nodded in agreement. "More or less."

"Alright, deal." said Jake, offering his right paw for Harry to shake. Harry obliged, and the pact was sealed.

"You can go first." Jake proposed, beaming. "I can turn around if you want."

"Har har." Harry replied sarcastically. "Yeah, go ahead."

Jake turned his back to the fox, allowing Harry to get to work. Going for an easy target, Harry carefully unzipped Jake's bag and promptly grabbed the nearest thing, pulling out an empty water bottle. As gingerly as he could, he zipped up the bag and stepped back, hiding the bottle behind his back.

"Done." he announced, but Jake did not turn around.

"You went for something in my bag, didn't you?" he asked. "I felt a very small tug there. Am I right?"

Harry groaned slightly, silently cursing his luck. "Yeah. I took your water bottle."

Jake turned around, a grin on his muzzle and his paws in his pockets. Harry tossed the bottle to him, and he snatched it out of the air with his left paw, placing it on the tarmac below.

"Your go." Harry said, as he prepared to turn.

"Already done." Jake said, his grin becoming wider.

Harry twisted his head back to Jake. He had not moved an inch from where he stood, so how could he have nicked something of Harry's? Harry looked at his friend in confusion, and Jake slowly brought his right paw out of his pocket, holding a familiar-looking watch. Harry's eyes bulged at the sight, quickly glancing down at his arm. Sure enough, the watch he wore a minute was gone.

"H-how...?" he began, but then he remembered the hand shake from before and realization dawned upon him. "You little..."

"Uh-uh-uh!" Jake protested smugly. "Don't hate the player, hate the game. And I believe we had a deal."

Harry grumbled, seizing his watch from Jake's outstretched paw. "All right," he complained. "I'll distract him."

To their dismay, at that very moment, the bell rang for the end of recess and everyone began to head back into their classrooms for the final classes of the day.

"Oh, great. We've missed our chance." said Harry.

"Maybe not." Jake replied. "We can still get the book."

"We can't exactly go into Jack's class to steal it." Harry reminded him, as they tramped into the building. "And he probably takes the bus home, so we can't ambush him after school."

Jake turned a corner, walking in the opposite direction from where their class was in. He turned around and smiled. "I have an idea, just follow me."

He led Harry to a closet that stood in the middle of the corridor. A bronze plaque was screwed to the centre of the door, with the word _Storage_ engraved into the metal. Jake opened the door with a small creak, scampering inside before anyone could see, and Harry followed, wondering what the young fox was up to.

Inside the storage closet were towers upon towers of shelves, each holding a wide variety of school equipment, cleaning supplies and tools. Almost instantly after entering, a strong musk assaulted Harry's nose, filling it with an odour that was he recognised as a fox's. He sniffed, trying to locate the source, just in case anyone happened to be in here with them. The smell seemed to emit from very close to Harry. He twisted his neck sharply to the left and spotted where the scent was coming from.

Tucked away in a corner of the room hung two old, patched janitor uniforms, both of similar size. Harry advanced toward them curiously, wondering who these fox janitors could've been. Soon, he was close enough to read the labels on the clothes. The older uniform had a name, stitched into the material, that read _Robin H. Wilde_ ; the other, newer-looking uniform had a similar name sewn in: _Nicholas P. Wilde._

A mighty crash and a chorus of clanging startled Harry, which was soon followed by a weak "Ow!" from behind one of the shelves. Harry went over to investigate, only to find Jake, spread-eagled on the floor and surrounded by empty tin cans, a box of matches gripped firmly in his paw.

"What are you doing?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Trying to get some matches." Jake replied, groaning in pain. "It's all part of my plan."

"Part of your plan?" Harry repeated in disbelief. "To what? Burn down the school?"

"No." Jake denied hastily. "I'm gonna draw Jack out by activating the sprinklers."

Harry eyes widened as he realised what Jake was planning. "In case you haven't noticed, Einstein, the sprinklers are on the ceiling. You're not an elephant like Einstein, so how do you expect to get up there?"

"Err... I didn't think of that." he confessed, scanning the room for a solution. His eyes lit up as they fell upon a tall and dusty wooden ladder that leaned against the wall.

"Would you look at that," he whispered, thanking his luck. "Problem solved." he told Harry cheerily, gesturing to the ladder.

Jake sauntered over to the wooden structure and attempted to lift it up, failing miserably. Seeing his struggles, Harry pitched in and picked it up with little difficulty and placed it outside in the now empty corridor. He leaned it against the wall whilst Jake tried to light the match. At last, a tiny flame ignited at the end of the matchstick, burning orange in front of Jake's eyes.

Feelings of unexplained fear rushed through Jake at the orange glow that now glinted on his red fur. The orange flame seemed to disappear from his vision and the echoes of screams he had heard before now reverberated in his mind. His paw began to shake vigorously and without knowing it, he had quenched the fire on the match's tip.

"Jake... Jake..." he heard as his vision cleared, revealing a concerned Harry looking at him with eyes full of worry. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah." Jake stuttered in reply, gazing at the box of matches in his paw.

"Could you- could you do it?" he asked, handing the box to Harry. Harry looked down at the box, before returning his gaze to Jake. "I-I just need a minute."

"Yeah, sure." Harry replied, his voice full of understanding. The young fox went to the opposite wall and slid down with a squeak until he was sitting on the floor, placing his head in his paws as he did so.

After a minute of silence between the two, Harry began to climb the ladder, each step creaking as he did so. Once he reached the top, he pulled out a match from the box, struck it and raised it to the sprinkler. The instant the flame touched the metal, the sprinkler activated, and water gushed out the nozzles, drenching the two to the bone. Unfortunately, no other sprinklers activated nor did an alarm sound, and before long, the water shut off.

"Well, that sucks." said Jake gloomily, shaking his sodden fur around as he got off the floor. "Nothing but a waste of time. There wasn't even an alarm, and that was the whole point of doing this."

An idea flashed through Harry's brain. "Why don't you just pull the fire alarm?"

Jake's eyes widened with elation. "Good idea!" he said, racing toward the red lever down the hall. Without hesitation or thought to the possible consequences, he yanked the lever down with fervour. An ear-splitting siren wailed along the corridor, leaping out from the corners and echoing everywhere. Overhead, a light began to flash red.

Within seconds, the halls began to fill up with children of all ages, being ushered out of the building by worried teachers. Students were being pushed to and fro by others in their haste to exit the school, and the two foxes were no exception. As they were being bustled out, Harry caught a glimpse of a familiar striped hare making his way in their direction, for some reason looking more annoyed than scared. Thinking that this was as good a time as any, Harry went for it.

He pushed against the crowd, aiming for Jack, and as luck would have it, they wound up crashing into each other. Jack tumbled to the floor, landing on his back, but he pushed himself back up easily, glaring at Harry.

"What the hell was that for, fox?!" he yelled, Harry only just hearing him over the racket. "You're supposed to be going the other way!"

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, noticing that Jake had snuck up behind Jack and was now opening his bag. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That much was obvious." Jack said with a sneer, noticing Harry's sodden appearance for the first time. "How'd you get so wet?"

"I think one of the sprinklers malfunctioned." lied Harry, seeing Jake remove the scaly book from Jack's bag before zipping it up.

"At least it had the decency to malfunction on one of the right mammals." said Jack with disdain, barging past Harry as he continued moving with the crowd of students.

The herd persisted to push on, eventually forcing the foxes out of the building and onto the courtyard. Jake thrust himself to the side, out of the sea of students, and shoved his family's grimoire into his slightly damp backpack. Once that was done, he marched on, following the crowd as they assembled in the middle of the courtyard, waiting for the all clear to go back inside.

The fire trucks arrived, sirens blaring as they pulled up in front of the school. The firefighters proceeded into the building, looking for the fire they were sent to deal with. For a few minutes, there was nothing to hear except the chatter of nervous and confused students, many of whom were speculating as to what had happened and if there was a fire or not.

Finally, one of the firefighters walked up to the principal and whispered something in his ear, before departing with the rest of his team in their trucks. The principal, a large male rhino, stood before the student population and surveyed them, his eyes pausing on the two drenched foxes in the middle, and put a megaphone to his lips.

"Listen up!" he bellowed through the megaphone. "There was no fire, it was a false alarm, students! It seems someone may have pulled the fire alarm by accident. Everyone back inside."

Everybody, teachers and students alike, filed back into the building. All except the principal and the two mismatched foxes, who had been separated from their peers by the rhino.

"You two." the rhino said through gritted teeth. "My office. Now."

* * *

Harry and Jake sat in the stiff, hardwood chairs that had been placed in front of the principal's desk, not making a sound. For Harry, this was his first time in an office like this, and he wasn't ashamed to admit he was a little frightened. But for Jake, this was one of many, and he'd become accustomed to the feeling, though he felt terrible with the knowledge that he had dragged Harry into this and that _he_ was to blame.

The principal's nostrils billowed out in frustration as he glared at the two foxes. In all his years at the school, Harry had never known the principal to have appeared this angry and he had always hoped that he would never be on the receiving end of one of his "talks".

"Do you two realise the severity of what you've done?" the rhino asked, only to be answered by swift shakes of their heads. "Pulling a fire alarm on purpose AND without an emergency is a class one misdemeanor, a minor crime in other words."

The pair's eyes widened in unison, as both had not known that.

"We didn't-" Jake started, only to be silenced with a stern look from the principal.

"Don't bother lying." he requested. "Not only were you unaccounted for during the last class, both of you, not to mention the floor below one of the sprinklers, are drenched with water. I know you two are to blame."

Jake looked down, wishing that he had never seen that book today. If he hadn't, neither Harry or he would be in this situation right now, the perpetrators of a crime.

"Fortunately, as both of you are under the age of 12, you are not being charged." he informed them, a small mercy upon them, he thought. "However, I'm left with no choice but to expel you both."

Harry quietly gasped. He was getting _expelled_?

"Mr McHorn..." he protested.

"The decision is final." Mr McHorn said sadly. "I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's my fault." Jake spoke up, to both mammals' surprise. "I'm the one who pulled the alarm, I'm the only one who should be punished. Don't expel Harry, sir, he didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry, Mr Emrys," the rhino replied. "But the decision was made by the rest of the staff, not just me. If it were, I would've just suspended you two."

Jake sat back down defeated, unaware of the small looks of gratitude Harry was giving him. Harry was thankful that Jake had tried to take the blame, even if it was all for nought. Sadness began to grip the two, as the full gravity of the situation collapsed on top of them. Mr McHorn could barely stomach the despaired looks on their faces, choosing to look down at his desk instead.

"If you two would please show yourselves out," he requested. "I will inform your caregivers of this."

The two complied, stumbling out the office with their bags on their backs, weighed down with their melancholy. The door closed behind them, and Mr McHorn sighed, wishing he could've done more for the children.

 _I can't bear to see another young child like this again_ , he thought to himself. _I need a change in career._

He slid his desk drawer open, pulling out the application form he had been meaning to fill in for quite some time now. There was no time like the present, so he may as well apply. Hopefully, in a new position, he could prevent kind-hearted boys like them from ending up in prison.

 _Hopefully_ , he thought, as he placed the tip of a pen to the paper and began to write.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Harry." Jake apologised again, wheezing. "It's all my fault."

"It's alright, Jake." Harry replied numbly, as they traipsed along the footpath to the orphanage.

"No, it's not alright!" he yelled. "If I hadn't been so fixated on this stupid book, we wouldn't be expelled. _You_ wouldn't be expelled!"

He ripped the straps of his backpack off his shoulders and violently unzipped the bag, snatching the grimoire from its dark depths. He hobbled to the nearest bin and lifted it above his head, ready to toss the book into the trash.

But try he might, he could not bring himself to do it. He could not rid himself of the last remnants of his deceased family. The family he had killed in his anger, his foolish anger, at something that at the time was so miniscule. He was torn between his only friend since the fire and the family that was never coming back. And in the end, he could not choose. He hurled the book at a wall, which burst open when he did, and sat down on a bench, bawling his eyes out.

For how long Jake sat there crying, he did not know. All he knew when he came to his senses was that Harry sat beside him, his arm spread over Jake's shoulders, soothing him after his outburst. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Harry had picked up the book and had placed it precariously between them.

"I'm such a screw-up." Jake blubbered at the sight of the book, tears streaming down his face, droplets getting caught in his red fur.

"You're not a screw-up." Harry consoled, never having told the truth about something so strongly before.

"Yes, I am." Jake retorted, his eyes bloodshot. "I screwed up with my family, I screwed up with all the other orphanages, and I screwed up today with you."

"You didn't screw up with me." Harry denied vehemently. "Yeah sure, you made a mistake and something bad happened to both of us because of it, but that doesn't mean we're not still friends."

Jake sniffed and, after a quick puff from his inhaler, said, "You- you really mean that?"

"Of course, I do." Harry promised. "After today, we're not just friends. We're partners, and we'll stay partners, even if we end up living on the streets, and have to commit more crimes to survive."

Jake snorted, "Partners in crime, huh?"

"Exactly."

A small smile emerged onto Jake's muzzle. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Don't mention it." Harry replied, returning the smile.

Unbeknownst to the two, they had inadvertently nudged the book off the bench, which fell and impacted softly with Jake's feet, the book opening as it did. A small breeze flipped the pages until it finally stopped, with a single page flapping in the wind.

Jake looked down at the book, and his smile grew even greater as he bent down to examine it. He turned to Harry with a glint in his eye.

"Harry, I think I've got an idea."

* * *

 _* Do any of you have any suggestions for how Harry and Jake meet Nick? And how they get involved with Mister Big? I've already got an idea for how it would happen, but I wanted to ask for your opinions._ _Put it in your review, and I will see what I can do._

 **Author Note: So, what do you guys think? Was this chapter good, or was it a complete flop? Tell me in the reviews section. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you all have a great Easter.**

 **As always, tune in for chapter 4, where a certain con-fox will make an actual appearance (instead of just a name appearance).**


	4. The Fox and the Shrew

**Author Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I enjoyed every suggestion for how Harry and Jake would meet Nick, and I've decided to incorporate a few of them into my original idea.**

 **Special shout-out goes to Wolf Miestwin, who is one of the sole reasons for this story being good so far, as he has pointed out all the plot holes and errors I've made before a lot of people can see them. Thanks, man. You're a true legend.**

 **And to the reviewer who goes by the name of Guest'a, thanks for all the suggestions. You have a plethora of great ideas, and I hope you like what I've done with them.**

 **If you haven't already, I'd like it if you read _A Ray of Hope_ , which is written by the determined writer Camoss. He's been under a lot of stress right now, and I know he'd really appreciate the support for his story. It would mean a lot for both him AND me if you read his story and showed your support.**

 **And without further ado, on to the chapter!**

* * *

 _Trust me, I'm an I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit hustler  
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen with the four-track bussing..._

-Can't Hold Us (2011), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

* * *

Chapter 4  
The Fox and the Shrew

Marcus Savage was not a happy mammal today. It had been a rather rough day at the Z.M.D. for him, chasing down crooks who used their magic for nefarious deeds and erasing the memories of the mundanes who had witnessed the dragon that had torched down a bakery in the Meadowlands. Not to mention the fact that the chief was breathing down his neck for results on a certain crime lord, who had somehow escaped every attempted arrest. All in all, it was a stressful day for Marcus.

He trudged to his office, planning to have a drink of sherry to ease his mind from the strains of work. Reclining in his comfortable dragon leather chair, he stretched for the drawer in front of him, where he kept the things he wished to stay hidden from everyone. Reaching in for a glass and a bottle, he noticed, to his utmost shock, that the grimoire he had placed in there, the Emrys family grimoire, had disappeared.

Marcus dropped his glass onto the carpet that lay below, frantically pulling the drawer out in his attempt to determine where the book had gone. But try as he might, he was unable to find it and it seemed as if all hope was lost for him. He honestly couldn't fathom how someone had stolen the book, when he had warded the drawer from being opened by anyone that didn't have his DNA.

At least, he couldn't figure it out until he heard the front door close and a familiar voice echo around the house.

"I'm home!" his son, Jack, yelled. Within that instant, the cause of Marcus's worry became clear.

"JACK!" he roared, his voice rebounding off the walls until it reached Jack's ears. "COME HERE!"

Jack timidly ambled in the direction of his father's voice, a bit afraid of what was to come. He had a rough idea of why his father was mad, considering where his voice was originating from. He entered his father's office and looked straight into his father's livid eyes, the blue irises looking more like lightning than the azure they usually were.

"Y-yes, father?" he trembled.

"Where's the book I left here?" Marcus asked, pointing at the drawer. "And don't lie to me! I'll know if you do."

"I-in my bag." Jack whimpered, trying not to meet his father's eyes.

"Did you read it?" Marcus questioned with a stern look. When there was no answer, he continued. "Well? Did you?"

"Y-yes, father." he replied, gulping as his father became even more enraged. "B-but only a little bit."

A snarl escaped Marcus's mouth, and his paws clenched into fist as he struggled to contain his anger. It was difficult, but eventually he managed to quench his outrage at the fact that his son had shown a complete disregard for the basic customs of magical people.

"Jack," Marcus said as calmly as he could. "What is the first rule regarding other houses?"

Jack looked down in shame, recalling that information from their very first lesson. "Never read another family's grimoire." he said glumly.

"Unless you have the permission of the House's head." Marcus finished. "You will be punished for this..."

"What?!" Jack protested.

"You must learn that every action has consequences, Jack." Marcus explained curtly, ignoring his son's interruption. "If a magical official, or worse, the head of a house saw you reading another family's grimoire, you could get into some serious trouble."

Jack's mouth fell agape, but soon closed it when he realised how serious his father's tone was.

"Hand the grimoire over, Jack." Marcus ordered, extending his paw for the receiving of the tome.

At his father's command, Jack slipped his backpack off quickly and opened it. His heart stopped as he rummaged through its contents, unable to find the book that he vividly remembered having at recess.

"Oh no." Jack whispered to himself. His father's long ears perked up.

"What do you mean 'oh no'?" he asked.

"I-it's not there!" Jack exclaimed. "But I remember I had it after recess, right before the-" he trailed off as his eyes widened.

"Right before the what?" Marcus inquired irately.

"Right before the fire alarm went off." Jack answered. "The teachers said it was a false alarm, but..."

"Did you see that red fox, Emrys, around then?"

"No, the only fox I saw was that weird, black-furred fox." Jack replied hastily.

"Black-furred?" Marcus clarified, thinking back to the day he was at the orphanage. "Did he have bright green eyes?"

"Y-yes."

Marcus slumped back in his chair, his paw on his head, and groaned. He now knew that his son had screwed up everything he had tried to achieve since the fire that killed most of House Emrys. The justice that the entire family deserved, for the atrocities that had occurred because of their ancestor, would not come into fruition because of Jack. And Marcus might never get his vengeance for what they had done to _him_.

"Well done, Jack." he congratulated, his voice laced with sarcasm. "You probably just returned the grimoire back to its owner."

* * *

 _Sahara Square Elementary  
At the Same Time_

Nick tossed his janitor's uniform into the storage closet indignantly and sighed in frustration. How was he going to tell Mr Big about this new development with the boy? Everyone knew that Mr Big didn't take failure lightly, so what was he going to do?

Before he'd even had a chance to think of a believable explanation, the phone Mr Big had given him rang. He gulped, but he answered quickly, preparing himself for the worst.

"Yes, Mr Big?"

"Nicky..." the voice of Mr Big rasped. "How are you? How's the job going?"

"It may have felt a bit better if I didn't have to work where my old man used to." Nick replied, glancing at the patched overalls that hung in the corner.

"I know, Nicky." Mr Big replied, sounding forlorn. "Your father... he was a good fox, one of my best, before he disappeared."

"You still haven't told me _why_ he disappeared." said Nick tersely.

There was a brief silence on the other side of the phone, before Mr Big replied, "All in good time, Nicky. All in good time."

Nick sighed, having expected an answer like that. It was all he got nowadays: promises of an answer. He got the same response from his mother, his father's friends and now Mr Big.

"Is there anything to report on the boy?"

This was the question Nick had been dreading, the one he didn't want to answer, at least not to Mr Big. Though Nick knew of Mr Big's dislike of failure, he remembered his intense hatred of liars. So, he swallowed his fear and responded.

"Yes, sir. From what I overhead, he got expelled along with a friend of his, for pulling a fire alarm."

"Expelled?" Mr Big repeated. "Then we must move quickly, before he's relocated again. Theo was only just able to find out where he was the last time, and I don't want to have to wait that long again."

"Sir," Nick interjected. "If you don't mind me asking, what's so important about this one fox in particular?"

There was a pause. "Let's just say it's a favour to an old family friend." he said hoarsely. "You should head to the Canyonlands. That's where his orphanage is, so he's bound to be there."

"The Canyonlands? Those old slums?"

"Yes, and when you talk to him, tell him that I'm a Code Myrddin. He'll know what that means." he paused, as if checking that Nick had understand. When he received no reply, he continued. "And try to bring his 'friend' too, I'm interested as to who he is. Now get moving."

The call ended, and Nick was left in the dark storage closet, pondering what Mr Big had said. He had an unexplainable feeling that his life was about to change, for better or for worse.

* * *

 _The Canyonlands_

"Harry, I think I've got an idea." said Jake, picking the book off the ground. "You remember when I was telling you about how when we're very angry or sad, our magic would... activate."

"Yeah..." Harry replied, recalling the conversation they'd had a few days ago. "You said we wouldn't be able to control it completely until we were eleven."

"That's what I thought." said Jake as he placed the open book on the bench the two sat on. "But if this is what it says it is, we may be able to control our magic much sooner. Have a look."

Harry obliged, peering at the handwritten pages that lay in the book, and began to read.

 _The Core-Maturer_

 _As the supposed "bastard" descendants of the great Merlin, we of House Emrys have been the subjects of much scorn and hate from the magician populace, with many believing our ancestor to have been the cause of the ripples that now plague our world. Because of this, our young children, whose magical cores have not yet matured, have been the target of many heinous deeds, many of them lethal._

 _It was for this reason that I, Lucia Emrys, attempted to create a potion that would mature a child's core to the point where they could control it at a much younger age. This would allow our children to defend themselves and will help the House of Emrys survive to the next generation._

 _From the tests that I have done as of this writing, I have concluded that the formula is a complete success. The children who consumed the potion, after two weeks of ingesting the mixture daily, were able to control their magic to the level of an adult. The results also show that any family abilities the children possessed tended to show at the same time. For example, the children from our family exhibited the family gift of wandless magic after the two-week period. And the children from that family of shrews across the street displayed signs of their innate telepathy earlier than expected._

 _However, it appears that each dosage (one drop daily) only matures the child's core by a year. We uncovered this when my two-year old, Lindsey, didn't show any signs of control until her ninth dosage (2 more than it took for the other pups). She required a full sixteen days of the potion before she could fully control her magic, a fact we discovered when she began to cater to her needs better than we used to._

 _NOTE: The potion does not appear to work on mundanes or the Unblessed. No side-effects have shown yet, but there has been no evidence to show that it works on either_

The writing went on, listing a bunch of ingredients that Harry had never seen nor heard of. He passed the book back to Jake, who was looking much cheerier than he was a few minutes ago.

"Do you know what this means?" Jake asked excitedly. "All we need are these ingredients, and we'd be able to control our magic."

Harry nodded in agreement, but he felt slightly unnerved at the things that had been said in the entry. What did the writer mean about "ripples"? What did she mean by "bastard descendants"? And what did Jake's family do to be hated by, what Harry assumed was, so many magicians?

"Uh, Jake..." he began, only to be cut off by the screeching of car tyres. The two turned their heads to see a black limousine skid to a halt, before reversing back to the pavement on the opposite side of the road. The revving of the car shut off as a red fox, most likely in his early twenties, stepped out from the passenger seat onto the asphalt below.

The fox wore a white shirt covered by a black leather jacket and a pair of crème corduroy trousers that stopped just above his ankles. His emerald green eyes seemed to glint as he made eye-contact with the two foxes, and he skulked over to them, his red-furred arms swinging slightly as he did so. In his paw, he clutched a photo which, as he advanced on the two, was shown to be a picture of a faintly younger, smiling Jake.

At the sight of the photo, Harry leapt off the bench and positioned himself in front of Jake, as if he was his protector against the unknown fox.

"Who are you?!" he called out to the fox. "What do you want?"

"The name's Nick Wilde." the fox replied, freezing a metre away from the two. "You?"

"Harry." he answered harshly. "You didn't answer my second question. What do you want?"

"There's no need to be so hostile." Nick said. "I just came here to talk to your friend."

"Yeah, I could see that." Harry responded, glaring at the photo Nick held in his paw.

Nick glanced down at the picture and the pieces fell into place. He now understood what was making the boy so unfriendly.

"Harry," Jake muttered, standing up. "Just let him speak."

"Thanks," Nick acknowledged, turning to Jake. "I came on behalf of my boss, Mr Big. He wanted to talk to you."

"Why should we trust you or your boss?" Jake asked.

Nick remembered back to what Mr Big had told him. "I don't know if this helps," he said. "But he told me to tell you that he's a… Code Myrddin, or something similar."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Jake. From Harry's perspective, his face appeared to have been moulded into an expression of shock at the fox's words. His face soon toughened, and a fire of determination ignited behind his eyes.

"Code Myrddin?" Harry whispered curiously. "What does that mean, Jake?"

Without a word, Jake grabbed the grimoire and stuffed it inside his bag, with pieces of paper rustling as he placed it within.

"What does that mean, Jake?" Harry repeated, louder this time.

Jake turned to the anxious black-furred fox and said, "It's a code that my parents taught me, and it means that we can probably trust this Mr Big."

* * *

 _Big Manor, Tundra Town_

The limousine rolled up in front of a mansion, its roof topped with a thick layer of pristine white snow. As Harry and Jake exited the car, they shivered as a small gust of wind blew through their fur. They'd never been to Tundra Town, so they weren't used to the teeth-chattering cold, and neither had a jacket since they hadn't expected to need one today.

Nick and the polar bear driver hopped out too, with not so much as a shiver from either of them. They strolled over to the house, the two trembling foxes following hastily in the hopes of getting warm. The polar bear knocked a rhythm onto the hardwood door, and a small slit at the bear's eye level slid open, revealing a pair of blue eyes which scanned the two front mammals, Nick and the driver, one by one, as if searching for something.

The slit slid shut, followed by the jingling of chains before the door swung open, held by an even larger polar bear, all dressed in black. He let the four pass, though he did a double take when he saw Harry, obviously not expecting to see a black fox.

Nick led them down the corridor and into a room which looked to be an office. In the centre was a desk and a chair large enough for a polar bear to sit in. Harry and Jake assumed it must be for Mr Big, whoever he was. A side door on the right opened, and through it entered three polar bears, with the last being the largest of them all. The largest bear sat down, his hands on the desk, which he lifted to reveal a smaller chair on which sat a tiny shrew.

Confused, Harry and Jake were surprised when Nick stepped forward, kissing a tiny ring on the shrew's finger, before retreating to the sides of the two foxes.

"I've brought the boys, sir, as you requested." Nick informed the shrew.

"Thank you, Nicky." the shrew acknowledged, turning his attention to the duo. "I believe you may be wondering why I wished to speak to you, and why I sent Nick here to collect you and your friend, Jake."

"H-how do you know me, and how did you know the code?" Jake asked timidly.

The shrew was silent for a while, as if considering what he should say. "I was a business partner, and a good friend, to your father before his death." the shrew explained. "My father was friends with his father, and my grandfather to his. The once Ancient and Noble House of Big have been allies with the House of Emrys for generations."

"Before his untimely passing," he continued sadly. "Your father and I made a deal to watch over each other's family, in the unfortunate event that one of us should perish in our... line of work. He gave me the code so that you would know I was to be trusted, and that I meant you no harm."

Jake's breath caught in his chest at the realisation that even in death, his father watched out for him. To his left, Harry was looking at the shrew, wondering one thing.

"Why didn't you take him in after they died?" he asked bluntly. "Why now?"

Around the room, the polar bears snarled as one. They were soon quietened by Mr Big when he held up his hand for silence.

"It's alright, he's just curious." Mr Big said calmly. "And to answer your question, young fox, he was moved by that blasted hare Savage before I could get to him. Theo, my... computer expert, spent the better part of a year finding his whereabouts, which we only found a week ago after his second relocation."

Understanding washed over Harry, and he felt bad for his rudeness against a shrew he had only just met.

"But I have to say, kit, you are a mystery to me." the shrew resumed, still talking to Harry. "From what I've heard, you seem to have almost no connection to this city, except for the fact that you live in it."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You have no family," Mr Big explained. "You were found alone on a street when you were very little, and DNA tests have no match to anyone as a possible relative. Growing up, you learned not to trust anyone, but a select few."

The shrew leaned forward in his chair at that moment, ignoring the interested look on Nick's face at this revelation.

"And yet even for an adult, you show surprisingly strong loyalty to Jake over there, who you've only known for a few weeks." he said. "You are an enigma, Harry, if I may call you that. I can see a bond between the two of you, and that's why I extended my invitation to you, which could turn into an offer for the both of you."

"What kind of offer?" Harry and Jake inquired at the same time.

Mr Big leaned back in his seat. "An offer of sanctuary." he replied simply. "You don't have to make the decision now, but I will expect an answer within a week from today. During that week, I will show you how my... business operates, and if you wish to take me up on my offer, just call me."

As the shrew finished, the polar bear who driven them here handed a single fox-sized cell phone to the two. Beside them, Nick's eyes widened as he realised what Mr Big's intentions were.

"Kevin will now show you out." Mr Big said, as the said polar bear opened the door for them. The two ambled away, with Kevin following behind, shutting the door as he did.

The instant the door closed, Nick turned his attention back to the shrew.

"That's what this is all about?" he asked. "You wanted to recruit two little boys?"

"Not just any boys." Mr Big countered. "The red fox, Jake, he's all that remains of the family that supported mine when we became Unblessed. His father was my partner for a very long time, and I owe it to him to preserve his legacy."

He paused. "But the black one, Harry, he intrigues me. There is a connection between him and Jake, of which I wish to learn more." At this, he focus turned back to Nick. "Keep an eye on them. They'll feel more comfortable with someone of their own species, and that could sway them to accept my offer."

Nick did not like it, but he couldn't refuse an order from the shrew.

"Yes, Mr Big." he replied compliantly.

* * *

 _* Any suggestions for what Harry and Jake will be shown from Mr Big's "business"? If they're asked to do something (e.g. shoot at a shooting gallery), who should be better at what? And do you believe they should take Mr Big up on his offer of sanctuary? Tell me in the review section below._

 _** Also, is there any experience or viewpoint you want to see in the next chapter (e.g. how in chapter 2, a part was from the viewpoint of Judy and Hermione)? Tell me if there is, and I'll see what I can do._

 **Author Note: So what do you guys think? Was this another great chapter or is there more I could add? Tell me in the reviews below.**


	5. Answers, Evictions and the Potion

**Author Note: Thanks to those who have already reviewed chapter 4, and the new followers of the story. I still really appreciate the support and ideas that you guys have given me.**

 **To Guest'a: You are a genius. I just wish you had an account so that I could communicate with you easier and congratulate you a lot more than I can with the chapters. Unfortunately, I am staying well clear of anything to do with your second suggestion for a viewpoint (that was the main reason I stopped the first story), as I wish to keep this story in Zootopia**

 **To Wolf Miestwin: Thanks for being my best critic over these last few months. I don't know what I'd do without your eagle eyes, picking out any mistakes/plot holes and anything that confuses you. You make this story just that much better.**

 **To Camoss: You, my friend, are one of the main reasons I keep going, with your constant support and reviews. Thanks a plenty for it!**

 **Now that's out of the way, let the chapter commence!**

* * *

 _"The only interesting answers are those that destroy the question."  
-_Susan Sontag

* * *

Chapter 5  
Answers, Evictions and the Potion

"So, what do think about this Mr Big's offer?" Harry asked the instant after the car dropped them off.

Jake sighed, looking at the phone he clutched in his paw. "I don't know." he admitted. "I mean, he seems... alright, I guess. And he did know the code my dad taught me, so I reckon we should just wait and see."

"Yeah, same here." Harry agreed. "We don't know anything about him, or what he does. I think we should make the decision at the end of the week, after we've found out a bit more."

"Agreed."

The sun was just starting to set as they strolled to the orphanage, their eyes squinting as the bright orange glare shone in their eyes. The roads were almost silent as they walked, and only the old newspapers in the alleyways made any noise as they were blown in the wind. They walked up the stairs that they had walked over many times before, only to hear a muffled argument escape through the gaps in the doors.

"Ms Irving, you can't do this!" said a male voice.

"I can, and I will, Rodriguez." the calm voice of Ms Irving replied. "When they get here, those two are out!"

"But Ms Spencer said-"

"Ms Spencer..." another voice interrupted. "...is gone. And as the most senior member of the staff, Ms Irving has the final say."

Harry snuck a glance at Jake's face, and saw that his eyes were also wide at what they were hearing. They gingerly opened the double doors, only to be greeted by the sight of Ms Irving, the doe replacement and, surprisingly, Nico standing in front of the doors. Nico had his back to them and appeared to have been the one who was arguing with Ms Irving and the doe.

"There they are." the doe exclaimed, spotting the two behind Nico.

Nico twisted his head at her interjection, catching sight of Harry and Jake. The expression on his face changed from outrage to sadness in seconds, and he turned back to face the caregivers of the orphanage.

"I may not be a lawyer or know all the rules in Zootopia." Nico said with defiance. "But even I know that kicking two kits, such as Harry and Jake, out onto the street is against both the law and our morals as mammals."

"Maybe you should read up a bit more, Rodriguez." Ms Irving countered with just as much conviction. "Because truancy is _also_ a crime in this city, and I personally don't want to have to spend any time in prison, just because a pair of irresponsible foxes got expelled from the only affordable school that would accept them."

They continued to argue, drawing the attention of the other orphans. Many of them hid behind the doors, listening in on their quarrel, but a few of them, the older teenagers who had come to care for Harry (and in turn, Jake) over time, joined Nico's side in defending the two.

Eventually, one side had to concede.

"Fine." Ms Irving yielded reluctantly. "The foxes can stay..."

The group who had supported Nico cheered, but they were quickly silenced by Ms Irving, who had more to say.

"BUT for every day they continue to live here," she continued, a wicked smile appearing on her face. "It'll be another grand taken from our support for your M.I.T. funds, Rodriguez."

There was a sharp intake of breath, from both Nico and the foxes, who had remained silent throughout the entire argument. As it was, Nico knew he would already have a large amount of student debt even with the orphanage's support and adding more wasn't something he wanted. But as he looked solemnly to the two foxes who were relying on him, the squirrel's resolve steeled.

"Deal." he decided.

* * *

 _Carrot Day Festival, Bunnyburrow  
The Next Day_

Judy sat in front of her parents' kiosk, skimming through a pamphlet for the Zootopia Police Academy. To her right lay the brown-furred Hermione, working on the homework she needed to complete for school. The summer sun beat down on them as their parents sold this year's harvest, and boredom was starting to cloud Judy's mind. Desperate for something remotely exciting, she looked up and scanned the booths that had been erected for the festival. Beside them there were kits lining up at the _Jellies_ stand that had been set up just like every year, and opposite stood the Hay Maze that had already swallowed up many of the younger Hopps kits.

Though one thing caught her eye, right next to the _Whack a Carrot_ game. A young bespectacled ferret, maybe around seventeen or eighteen, was walking out into the clearing away from the main festival. Unbeknownst to the ferret, she was being followed by a gang of four, maybe five, older stoats, all who looked rather suspicious and menacing.

 _Oh no, not again,_ Judy thought, recalling a similar thing happening six years ago; the incident with Gideon Grey.

"I'm just gonna look around." she informed her parents, her eyes never leaving where the ferret had disappeared.

"Okay, but don't take too long." her mother replied, handing a bag of carrots to a bunny. "We're almost sold out, and we'll need help putting everything back into the truck."

"Got it." Judy acknowledged, placing the pamphlet in her back pocket as she followed where the ferret and stoats had gone. She was just about to go around the corner, when she heard a tiny voice speak.

"Can I come with you?"

Judy twisted around to see Hermione standing behind her timidly, her homework left forgotten in front of the stall.

"Hermione," she said slowly, trying to figure out what to say. "I don't think you should come with me this time. I have a feeling that something bad is gonna happen, and I'd feel better if you stayed with mum and dad."

"But what if you need help?" she asked. "I thought cops were supposed to stick together."

Judy felt a pang in her heart as she knelt to Hermione's eye level, replying, "Neither of us are cops yet, Hermione, you know that." she paused before continuing with a heavy heart. "Please... just stay with mum and dad, and I promise you I'll be fine."

Hermione looked down sadly, and obliged, though very reluctantly. "Okay." she said glumly, walking back to the kiosk.

Judy sighed, wishing she didn't have to do that, but was content with the knowledge that her sister wouldn't get hurt. And with that, she stepped out into the clearing where she had seen the ferret and stoats go. She spotted the ferret standing with her back to a red barn, surrounded by the stoats, who were advancing threateningly.

"You really don't wanna do this." the ferret said through gritted teeth.

"C'mon, ferret." one of the stoats replied harshly. "Give us the plants and we'll let you go."

"I know what they'll be used for, and my family's answer is still no." she declared, slipping an object out from her pocket. "So I'd suggest you leave, before things get bad for you guys."

"We're not leaving until you give us what the boss wants." another stoat threatened.

Judy was just about to step in, when the ferret retorted with, "If your boss wants an ass-kicking, why don't you pass my message on to him?"

The ferret spun what looked to be a stick through the air and, in perfect unison, each of the stoats flew backwards as if they had been launched by an invisible force. They landed violently on the hard-packed earth, but they pushed themselves off the dirt almost instantaneously, and stumbled back towards the ferret, swinging their arms haphazardly in a feeble attempt to land a blow on the mustelid. The ferret dodged their strikes as elegantly as if she were performing a dance, slashing the stick-like object to and fro, with jets of light springing forth and impacting the stoats one by one, each slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Judy looked on in incredulity as each stoat fell, amazed at how easily the ferret had dispatched each of them. Finally, a single stoat remained standing, the only one who had not yet attacked. But at the sight of his fellows on the ground, he charged clumsily with a battle cry emitting from his mouth. The ferret twirled the stick she held in her paw and the stoat flew backwards, nearly hitting Judy as he did.

The ferret's eyes widened as she caught sight of Judy, and she tried frantically to hide the stick away.

"Oh, um, hi." the ferret said weakly.

"What was all that about?" Judy asked, looking at the unconscious stoats around the field.

"What was all what about?" the ferret denied, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Judy looked at her in disbelief, gesturing to the stoats. "This! How on earth did you do all that stuff with that stick of yours?"

The ferret sighed, pulling out the wooden rod and pointing it at Judy's forehead, its' tip glowing a milky white.

"Sorry 'bout this." she apologised, looking into Judy's eyes. "But I have to do this, it's against the law if I don't."

There was a shout of "NO!", before the ferret's weapon shot out of her paw, spiralling over Judy's tall ears and colliding with what sounded to be fur and flesh. Judy turned around quickly and was met with the sight of Hermione holding the rod in her paw, eyes fixed on the now disarmed ferret. Behind Judy, the ferret's eyes widened as she looked at her weapon in Hermione's paws.

"Hermione!" Judy reprimanded. "I told you to stay with mum and dad!"

"You were in trouble!" Hermione argued. "And I thought I could help."

"And I appreciate that." Judy said gratefully. "But that doesn't mean you should ignore what I say. What if you'd been hurt?"

"She wouldn't have." the ferret interjected.

Judy slowly turned her head, glaring at the ferret. "And how would you know?" she asked rhetorically. "You were just pointing that stick at my face, about to do who-knows-what to me, and yet you say a _kit_ wouldn't get hurt."

"First off, that 'stick' is called a wand." the ferret informed. "And secondly, she's clearly a magician. Of course she wouldn't get hurt."

Judy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she retorted angrily, "What do you mean 'magician'? What are you talking about?"

"Wait, you don't know?" the ferret probed cautiously.

"Don't know what?" Judy and Hermione responded at the same time.

A small chuckle escaped the ferret. "Huh, I guess she's a new-blood." she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. Looking at the expectant looks of both Judy and Hermione, the ferret took a deep breath before explaining.

"Your... sister, I think... she's what we call a magician." she enlightened them. "Not like the 'magicians' you know, the stage performers and the illusionists. No, I'm talking about her being able to do real magic, not card tricks or sleight of paw."

"But magic doesn't exist." the tiny voice of Hermione said. "I mean, all 'magic' is just really advanced science, according to my teacher."

The ferret grinned at Hermione's argument. "In a way, you're right, but you're also a bit wrong. Science can be done by anyone with the right intelligence, but with magic you're born with it. You either have it or you don't."

"I don't mean to be rude," Judy interrupted somewhat irritably. "But could you please explain why you were pointing your 'wand' at me?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." the ferret said sheepishly. "But you saw what I did to those stoats, and our laws prevent us from revealing magic to anyone not already in the know..." She glanced at Hermione at this point. "...or a mammal with a close magician relative. All I was going to do was make you forget what you saw, that was it."

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Judy. "You- you were going to brainwash me?"

"Not exactly." the ferret denied. "I was just gonna make you forget."

"How many times has this been done until now?!" she demanded.

"I'm not sure." the ferret replied quickly. "I know that this is the first time I've tried it on you."

Judy observed the ferret's face, searching for any sign that she was lying. Finding none that she could remember from her psychology book, she relented on her glaring and stepped away from the ferret, giving her some space, though she kept a distrusting eye on her. The mustelid advanced slowly in Hermione's direction, and held out her paw cautiously as if requesting for her wand to be returned. Hermione glanced at Judy, who nodded, and she handed the wand back to its owner.

With a small flick, a business card appeared at the tip of her wand, which she removed and placed in Judy's paw.

"Tell you what, if you need a better explanation, just come around my family's business sometime." she advised. "The address is on the card, and when you get there just show the card to the chipmunk named Sarah. She'll let you in."

And with that, she began to walk off, but was stopped by a single question from the grey bunny.

"Who are you?" she asked. "What's your name?"

She twisted her head around, answering with a simple "Emily." before disappearing from their sight.

* * *

 _Tundra Town_

The two foxes stepped out of the black limousine just as they had done the day before. The red fox, Nick, had called them on their phone to inform them where they had to meet up, and they arrived at the location to see him waiting outside the car with a pair of aviator glasses perched on his snout. As soon as he had spotted the two, he had opened the car door to let them in before they were driven to what looked to be a warehouse that was surrounded by fluffy white snow.

"Mr Big said he wanted to show you this before anything else." Nick explained. "I've honestly never been here, but he said that you two will understand what's in there."

There was a pause before he continued. "He's waiting for you inside."

The two glanced at each other nervously, then looked up at the fox. Nick noticed their silence and looked down at them. Upon seeing that their eyes were full of uneasiness, he voiced the answer to their unsaid question.

"Sorry, kits, he said only you two should go in." he explained. "Some sort of secret between you and him, I think."

Harry and Jake timidly walked to a small door in the side of the warehouse and entered, nearly being engulfed by the darkness of the building. The door shut behind them with a deafening _BANG_ , which bounced off the walls, echoing for all to hear. Their eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light, and they could see that the room was filled with towering shelves, with rows upon rows of vials loaded onto each ledge. Each vial seemed to hold a different coloured liquid within; some bright green, some clear and transparent, and some even appeared to glow in the shadowy warehouse.

Despite the tension that plagued their minds, curiosity got the better of the two. Their eyes wandered down the rows of phials and flasks, examining each one of them with wonder, silently speculating as to what they were for.

The glare off one caught Jake's eye and he crept over to it, its' shine the equivalent of the summer moonlight, bright and comforting. Jake felt as if there was some unknown link between him and what was contained within the glass. He succumbed to the voiceless lure of the vial and gingerly plucked it off the shelf, holding it within his paw as if it were a priceless artefact. Through the pristine crystal he could feel the relaxing warmth of the liquid and, for a second, he felt at peace, lost within the small paradise in a cruel world that this solution had given him.

"I guess you know your potions, then." the accented voice of Mr Big echoed.

The two jumped, though Jake kept a firm grasp on the vial and stopped himself from dropping it. Out from the shadows came the large polar bear from their first meeting, carrying Mr Big in his palm.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, glancing down at the vial in his paw.

"Why, that the very potion your family made." Mr Big elaborated. "The Core-Maturer, I think it was called. Your father made a tonne of it before he died, as a gift to my family."

"Wait, you mean..." Harry interjected warily. "...you're a magician or something?"

The shrew paused sadly before replying. "No. And neither are my family, at least not anymore."

There was a short silence until Mr Big continued. "Anyway, this was just something I wished to show you." he said, gesturing to the shelves. "This is the largest collection of potions in Zootopia. Anything from healing to transformation potions, we have."

"My business even has a deal with the mundane hospitals." he added as a side note. "We provide them with medicine for 'incurable' diseases, and in return, they provide us with treatment whenever an accident occurs with my personnel."

And with that, the foxes' opinion of Mr Big rose. They still weren't sure about him, but if he donated medicine to hospitals, he couldn't be all that bad. But Mr Big hadn't even finished.

"And that Core-Maturer you're holding," he remarked. "That's my gift to you, if you choose to accept my offer."

Their eyes widened at the addition to the original offer, as they recalled what the Emrys grimoire had said. If this really was the Core-Maturer that had been mentioned in the tome, then it made the proposal just that much sweeter, but it seemed almost a little _too_ good to be true. They looked at each other and seemed to talk with their eyes until they came to a mutual understanding.

"Thank you, err, sir." Harry acknowledged.

"No problem." Mr Big replied, a grin spreading across the rodent's face. "That's all I needed to show you. You can go on back to Nicky now, and he'll show you the rest of my business."

They exited the warehouse, the door shutting behind them with the same _BANG_ as when they had entered. The warehouse was once again dark, as Mr Big sighed.

"He didn't put it back, did he?"

"I don't think so, sir." the polar bear replied.

The shrew took a deep breath and let loose a small groan. "He's just like his father alright."

"No doubt about that, sir."

There was a temporary halt in their conversation, as Mr Big seemed to consider something.

"He and that black fox would work well together with Nicky, if they're as reckless as they seem to be." he decided. "They have a lot of _coraggio_ to steal from me, even though it is something I consider insignificant now."

Koslov looked down at the shrew in his paw. "You still gonna offer them a place?"

"Yes, I never back down from an offer once I've made it." Mr Big reminded him. "Besides, I need daring ones like them. It's hard enough to find any Unblessed, let alone magicians, who would be even _slightly_ willing to work with me, and those two fit the bill perfectly."

* * *

 _Canyonlands Orphanage  
That Night..._

"I can't believe we just stole it that easily." Harry said in disbelief, looking at the bottle they'd nicked. "I mean, how did they not notice that?"

Jake shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know, but we got it." he replied, pulling the grimoire out from under the bed and flipping to the page about the potion. "Okay, it says that we should take about one drop a day for each year we want our core to mature."

Harry looked over his shoulder, reading the sheet of paper. "So how many drops until we can fully control our magic?"

"I'd say about... ten drops." Jake estimated, attempting to pull the stopper from the bottle.

Harry looked on, his face straight, as Jake struggled to remove the cork. After almost a full minute of watching, Harry reluctantly decided that enough was enough.

"You want me to do it?" he asked, a smirk beginning to appear on his muzzle.

"Yeah, sure." Jake conceded glumly, handing the bottle to Harry. Within seconds, Harry had it off and looked at Jake, trying not to snicker at his dumbstruck expression. "I probably loosened it up for you though."

"Whatever." Harry grinned, pouring a drop of the solution onto his tongue. "Your turn."

Jake grabbed the bottle and did the same. Warmth began to spread through their bodies, from their fingers to their toes, as they felt their magical cores maturing. Their bodies seemed to shine ever so slightly in the darkness, but, just as quickly as it had begun, they were plunged back into the shadows of the dorm.

To their right, the sleeping Nico tossed and turned in his sleep, but did not awake. Harry looked forlornly at his squirrel friend, knowing how big a sacrifice the rodent was making to keep them off the streets. The black fox appreciated it but wished he could do something to help. Suddenly, an idea flashed into his mind.

"Jake, how many days of this will we need before we can control our magic?" he asked. "At least a bit?"

"Uh, three or four days, I think." Jake replied. "Why?"

"Well, I just can't stay here, knowing how much Nico is losing because of us." he explained. "When we're able to control it, we leave. Okay?"

Jake looked at Harry in a flabbergasted manner. "If you're saying what I think you're saying, then that's a terrible idea." Jake said. "I mean, living on the streets is difficult, even at the best and shortest of times."

"C'mon." Harry pleaded. "Just trust me."

Jake appeared to be fighting with himself, weighing up the pros and cons. After a while, he appeared to reach a verdict.

"Fine, you've twisted my arm." he whispered. "But if we end up dead on the streets, I'm blaming you."

"Wouldn't expect anything else." Harry responded.

* * *

 _Bunnyburrow  
The Next Day_

Judy and Hermione stood outside what looked to be a small mechanic's workshop, with big letters painted up top that read _Ferretson and Family's._ Judy looked down at the address on the card that the ferret, Emily, had given her yesterday, checking to see if they were at the right place. The address matched, so she walked into the garage, keeping Hermione close so that she wouldn't get hit by the sparks that flew in every direction.

A chipmunk in oily overalls, with the name _Sarah_ stitched into the fabric, stepped out in front of them.

"Anything I can do to help you bunnies out?" she asked in a thick country accent.

"Uh, yeah." Judy replied, handing her the card. "The ferret, Emily, she gave us this."

"Ah." said Sarah, as she read the card. "Follow me."

She led them to the very back of the garage and walked down a flight of stairs to a tiny storage room. On a wall perched a thin suitcase, which the chipmunk pounded her fist on. From within, the suitcase opened and an adult cougar, too big to have fitted in the bag, peered out. The two bunnies looked on, their eyebrows rising in surprise, as the cougar and the chipmunk chatted as if this were normal.

"Hey, Sarah." the cougar acknowledged. "How's it going?"

"Alright, I guess." Sarah responded. "I gotta another couple new-bloods here. Ya mind if ya take them from here?"

"Sure!" the cougar agreed before he disappeared into the darkness of the suitcase. "Come on in." his disembodied voice enticed.

One by one, Hermione and Judy stepped carefully into the bag and were amazed at how extraordinarily large the inside was. It was bigger than the entire workshop they had just passed through; hell, it was even bigger than their house (which was saying something when they lived with a family of 300). It looked as if a complete street had been crammed in here, and there was still room to spare. As they gawked, they noticed that there were a whole multitude of awestruck children also looking around the area, with their various parents not far behind them.

"This way!" the cougar called, leading them to a desk that read _Registration_ , which was operated by a young obese cheetah. As they drew closer, the cheetah noticed them.

"Hey, Riley." the cheetah said to the cougar, looking down at Judy and Hermione as he did so. "I see you brought some cute bunnies with you."

Judy cringed noticeably at the word _'_ cute'. The cheetah saw this and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Please just don't call me cute." Judy requested.

"Okay..." Walter replied cautiously, looking at Judy strangely.

"Walter, could we get these new-bloods registered quickly?" Riley requested.

"Don't rush me, Riley" Walter responded. "I'm just gonna take a blood sample to get you registered." he explained. "Don't worry, every new-blood, including me, has gone through this."

"Why do you need a blood sample?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, just identification, thaum counts and all the rest." he enlightened them.

With a crack like a whip, the ferret from yesterday, Emily, appeared next to Walter. He jumped and turned his chair around, angrily, to face her.

"What have I told you about doing that, Emily?" he asked rhetorically. "Just because you're allowed to teleport now does NOT mean you have to appear that close to me every single time!"

"Sorry." she replied, not sounding apologetic at all. "I came to tell you that there's no need to test her." she pointed to Judy. "She's mundane, but her sister's new-blood."

"Next time just text me or something." he suggested, as he took a blood sample from the nervous Hermione. "My heart's bad enough without you scaring the bejesus out of me."

Walter placed the blood sample in a small handheld device, pushed a few buttons and waited. A little ding emitted from the tool and the cheetah's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Wow. Eighteen thousand." he noted, turning to Emily. "There all yours now."

"Thanks." said Emily, turning to Judy and Hermione. "Walk with me, you two." She sauntered off, the two siblings following behind, though there was still a little animosity between them and Emily.

"I suppose you may have a few questions." she stated, glancing at them expectantly.

"Yeah, what was that all about back there?" Judy asked, motioning towards the desk where they'd just left.

"Oh, that? That was just registration." Emily explained. "We have to have every new magician's DNA on record just in case they use their magic to commit a crime or something similar. That way, we'd be able to tell who the perpetrator is based on their magical signature."

Judy's face turned quizzical. "Yeah, that doesn't explain much."

Emily sighed. "Think of a magician's 'signature' as a fingerprint for their magic. Whenever a magician uses magic, they leave their 'fingerprint' behind, and if it was at a crime scene, we'd be able to pinpoint who cast the spell based on their signature."

"Oh." said Judy. "That actually kinda makes sense."

"We do our best."

"So…" Judy continued idly, looking around the spacious room. "What is this place for exactly?"

Emily began to walk backwards to keep eye contact with the two. "This is one of the places where we introduce the new-bloods to the magical world." she said. "If we find a magician who doesn't have a magician parent or guardian, we usually try to help them control any outbursts of magic that could lead to mundanes like you finding out about us too early."

"Why is that bad?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Because if magicians are revealed too early," Emily continued without even a pause. "The mundanes would most likely see us as a threat and seek to destroy us. The trials in Mammalchusetts a few centuries ago being the most obvious example of this."

"That's why we've trying to integrate ourselves into the mundane world." she went on. "To show everyone that we're not a threat and that we can co-exist peacefully. We don't want to do it too early, so that's why everyone here is trained to erase memories if a non-related mundane sees magic."

She took a breath before she carried on talking. "Anyways, back to what we do here. Once we've stopped any uncontrollable outbursts, we help train the new-bloods in how to use their gift."

"Like a magic school or something?" Judy clarified.

"Close, but no. Magic schools are a thing of the past, now that we have the W.M.N."

"What's that?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"The Worldwide Magician's Network. Basically, like the magician internet." Emily answered, handing Hermione a small device and a vial full of liquid. "The device connects any computer to the W.M.N. and when the browser opens, it goes straight to the approved online classes. The vial, however, is a potion which will help you control your magic. About ten drops should do it."

The two bunnies stood dumbfounded at all this new information that had been stuffed into their heads, and they were so busy trying to process it all that they hadn't noticed they walked straight out of the suitcase they'd entered through. Their pupils dilated as rays of natural sunlight hit their eyes and their heads cleared, just in time for Emily to call out one last thing.

"By the way, a bonded wand should appear in your mail within a week!"

* * *

 _Sahara Square  
A Few Days Later_

Nick ambled down the street on his way back to his apartment after a long day working for Mr Big. He had to admit that he was rather surprised when Mr Big told him to show the two foxes what he did, but hey, he wasn't complaining. It just meant he could go back to doing what he did best: hustling. To his delight, he found that the two had a knack for the art, though the red fox could try to improve on _not_ nicking the wallet of every mammal he came across.

However, he recalled how hysterical it was to see the asthmatic fox running for his life when a large tiger had felt the boy pickpocketing him two days ago. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but the way it happened was just priceless. The fox had snuck up on the tiger, stole his wallet and ran as fast as he could, with the _clearly_ athletic tiger chasing after him in a fury. If that wasn't enough, Jake had just so happened to turn down an alley where two cops were watching for speeding cars. A tranquilizer shot to the boy and the angry tiger later, and Nick knew he had to step in, no matter how funny it was becoming. Even the black fox, Harry, had let loose a snicker at Jake's predicament.

Oh, how funny the smallest moments could be.

The day after was just as good, if not better. Despite their scruffiness and pained looks, the two had pulled off a rather successful hustle on their own, with the classic Three Card Monte. Nick was amazed at how good they were, luring the audience in and building up the bettor's confidence, before swindling the overconfident gamblers out of their money. By the end, they had walked off with over four hundred dollars in profit.

Deep down, though he did not know it, Nick was starting to feel a real connection to the two kits. They were quite humorous when they wanted to be and seemed to have a flair for the art of the hustle, just like Nick was when he was around their age. He could not deny that something was forming between them and he hoped that if they didn't take Mr Big up on his offer, that they would at least continue to hustle with him.

"Well, well, well." said a voice that brought Nick out of his thoughts. "If it isn't Mr Big-Shot Hustler."

Nick turned to see the small form of his friend, Finnick, sitting in his van, a beer in his paw and a smile on his face. The fennec fox reached into the van and pulled out an unopened beer bottle and offered it to him tentatively.

"You want one?"

Nick's trademark smirk flashed across his muzzle as he replied, "Yeah."

The two drank in silence, side by side, looking out at the mammals who passed by.

"So, how's it like working for the mob?" Finnick probed.

"Tiring." Nick responded, taking a swig from his beer. "But it has it's upsides."

"Really? Like what?"

"For one, better pay." Nick reasoned. "Also, there are a few more _tolerable_ people than many of the others I've worked with."

"Like those two fox kits I saw you with yesterday?" Finnick asked, his eyes fixed on something opposite them. "One black furred, one red?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"For one, they did quite well yesterday." Finnick stated. "And two, it looks like they're sleeping on the street opposite us."

Nick looked up at the place where Finnick was watching and discovered, to his shock, that Finnick was right.

* * *

 **Author Note: Sorry if this chapter seemed terribly long, but there was a lot of the dreaded exposition to get through, and I didn't want to have another chapter of exposition. I have to say, this was one of the more tedious chapters to right, but I hope it was good enough for you. As always, please review to show your support.**


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